Vehicle-brake



(No Model.)

0. B. FAIROHILD. VEHICLE BRAKE-1 No. 572,939. Patented Dec. 8, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT thrice.

CHARLES I FAIROI'IILD, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-EIGHTH TO DANIEL IV. BOSLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VEHICLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 572,939, dated December 8, 1896,

Original application filed December 3, 1895, Serial No. 570,948. Divided and this application filed February 18, 1896. Serial No. 579,717x (N model;

To all whom it may conccrn: applied to the grip'ca'r of a cable street-rail- Be it known that I,CHARLES'B. FAIRCHILD, way. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section a citizen of the United States, and a resident thereof on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 of New York, in the county of New York and is a longitudinal vertical section through the 5 State of New York, have invented an Immiddle thereof.

proved Vehicle-Brake, of which the following Referring now to the drawings, A desigis a specification. nates, as a whole, a brake-brush which is sub- This invention relates to improvements in stantially identical in construction with the vehicle'brakes, and relates particularly to brake-brush heretofore fully described in an 10 what may be termed pavement-brakes, of application for Letters Patent filed by me on the general type comprising, broadly, a brush the 3d day of December, 1805, and numbered supported upon the vehicle and adapted to serially 570, 948, and which comprises, essenbe lowered and raised to depress the free ends tially, a rigid back A, in which are secured of the brush-teeth into and to raise them out a plurality of brush-teeth a. 15 of contact with the road-bed. In the preferable form of the brake-brush The object of the present invention is to A the brush-teeth a are resilient and are provide a brake of this type of such construcmade from strands of wire cable drawn to a tion that when the teeth of the brake-brush mild spring-temper. My invention, however, are lowered into contact with the road-bed contemplates the use of rigid teeth, either 20 or pavement said brake will be applied with alone or together with resilient teeth, and desired force automatically and quickly. also contemplates the use of other forms of Abrake embodying my invention comprises resilient teeth, all as fully disclosed in said a brake-brush consisting of a rigid back in application for Letters Patent of the United which are secured a plurality of resilient States so filed by me in the Patent Oltfice on' 25 brush-teeth, a block or support in contact the 3d day of December, 1805, Serial No.

with which said brush is supported, said block 570, 948. or support being movable toward and from In the drawings I have shown my improved the road-bed; cam-surfaces formed on said brake as applied to the grip-car of a cable block or support and said brush, respectively, street-railroad. As shown, said brake is sup- 0 such that movement of said brush. longitudiported at one side of the cable-grip, so as to nally of said support will operate to advance engage the road-bed between the slot of the or retract said brush relatively to said sup-. cable-conduit and the rail. port; stops to maintain said block or support The brake-frame consists of 1011 gitudinallyin permanent longitudinal adjustment upon disposed angle-bars B, firmly secured to the 3 5 said vehicle; stops to limit the longitudinal tops of block B, which are in turn secured movement 'of said brush relatively to said to the upper sides of the transverse slide-bars block or support; means to maintain said B of the grip-car. brush normally at the limit of its retraction, The brake-brush A is supported in contact and means to lower and raise the block or with the under surface of a block or support 40 support to depress the free ends of the brush- 0, so as to be movable relatively to said block teeth into or to raise them out of contact or support 0. As shown, coiled tensionwith the road-bed or pavement. springs c are used to so hold said brake-brush The invention also consists in the various in contact with said block or support 0, the other features, combinations of features, and ends of said springs being connected to said 5 details of construction hereinafter described block or support 0 and to said brake-brush 5 and then pointed out in the claims. A, respectively.

In the accompanying drawing a brake em- The movement of the brush A relatively to bodying my invention is fully illustrated. the block or support O is limited by links 0,

Figure 1 is a side view of a brake embodypivotally connected at one end to said brush 5o ing my invention, said brake being shown as and slots, in the other ends of which engage 10o pivot-pins, secured in said block or support. As shown, the ends of the springs care at tached to the pivot-pins of the links and embrace said links as guides.

The block or support 0, which carries the brake-brush A, is bodily movable toward and from the road-bed or pavement between the slide-bars B of the grip-car and the blocks 13 as guides, so as to lower and raise the brake-brush A to depress the free ends of the brush-teeth a into and to raise them out of contact with the road-bed or pavement.

Formed on the contacting surfaces of the block or support 0 and the brake-brush A are cam-surfaces, such that movement of said brake-brush longitudinally of said block or support will operate to advance said brush toward and to retract it from. the road-bed relatively to said block or support. As shown, duplicate-sets of regularly-inclined surfaces c are formed on said block 0, corresponding oppositely-inclined surfaces 0 0 being formed on the brake-brush A, the pitch of said surfaces being about one inch vertically to three inches longitudinally. In the preferable construction shown also the block or support 0 is fitted to a channel formed in the upper surface of the brake-brush A, the camsurfaces on said brake-brush being formed at the bottom of said channel. Said block or support 0 will thus operate in an obvious manner to maintain said brush A from lateral displacement. In order to provide for longitudinal movement of the brake-brush A relative to said block or supportC, said brush is made shorter than said block or support, the diiference in length being such that the brush, being at the middle of the block lengthwise, may move in either direction a sufficient distance to depress said brush about two inches. With inclined surfaces having a pitch of one inch in three said brush will be about twelve inches shorter than the inclined surfaces on the said block or support, and the length of the respective inclined surfaces is from two to three inches more than the maximum travel of said brush from its middle position on said block or support longitudinally thereof. It therefore follows, from the use of duplicate cam-surfaces constructed as described, that said brush will always be supported at both ends when moving in either direction.

It is obvious that the springs a will operate to maintain the brake-brush A normally at the middle of the block or support C and at the middle of its travel, thus providing for movement of said brush in either direction. Said springs will also operate to maintain said brush normally at the limit of its retraction relatively to the block or support G.

Then the block orsupport O, carrying the brake-brush A, is depressed sufficiently to bring the free ends of the brush-teeth a into contact with the road-bed or pavement, the resistance offered to the passage of said brush over said road-bed or pavement will operate automatically to impart longitudinal movement to said brake-brush relatively to said block or support, whereby said brake-brush will be further depressed so as to engage the road-bed with desired force.

Movement of the brake-brush A longitudinally of the block or support (1 is limited by means of suitable stops, which also operate to take the end thrust due to the applieation of the brake. As shown, these stops are formed by the slide-bars 13 of the truck-frame of the car, which extend below the block or support 0 at all times and into the path of said brush A.

The means for lowering and raising the block or support 0 to bring the free ends of the brush-teeth a into contact with the roadbed or pavement and to raise them out of contact therewith are as follows: Threaded through a nut E, rigidly secured to the framebars B, is a screw E, the end of which bears upon the top of the block or support C at the middle thereof. The upper end of the screw E is tubular, and fitted to and splined therein is a shaft E the upper end of which is supported in a suitable bearing formed in a bracket 6, secured to the body of the car. A beveled gear secured to the shaft E meshes with a beveled gear secured to a horizontal shaft E", mounted in suitable stationarybearings on the body of the car. Pivotally supported upon the body of the car, in position to be accessible to the gripman, is a handwheel E, rotation of which is imparted to the shaft E by means of a chain belt 8, adjusted to sprocket-wheels 0 e rigidly secu red to the hub of said hand-wheel E and to said shaft E respectively.

Rigidlysecured to the screw E above the nut E is a collar E, which, as the screw is raised, comes into contact with a bar or rod E, which embraces said screw E above said collar E and the ends of which are connected to the opposite ends of the block or support 0. In order to allow the brake-brush A to adjust itself to inclined road-beds or pavements, the bar or rod E, in the preferable construction shown, is pivotally connected to said block or support 0.

In order to prevent binding of the screw E in the nut E, rubber cushions e are placed under the ends of said nut E and between it and the frame-bars B.

The operation of my improved brake is as follows: The block or support 0 and the brush A being both fully retracted and it being desired to apply the brake, the gripman turns the hand-wheel E to lower the screw and thus depress the block or support 0 and the brush A carried thereon until the free ends of the brush-teeth a come in to contact with the roadbed or pavement. The resistance offered to the passage of the said brake-brush along the road-bed or pavement operates automatically to impart longitudinal movement to said brake-brush relatively to said block or support O, whereby said brush will be further de- IIO pressed into forcible engagement with the pavement and the car stopped.

When it is desired to release the brake, the hand-wheel E is turned in the opposite direction, whereby the screw E is raised, and the collar E thereon, coming into contact with the rod or bar E operates to raise said block or support 0, and with it the brush A, until the free ends of the brush-teeth a are clear of the pavement. The springs c then operate to further retract said brake-brush and to return it to its normal position at the middle of the block or support (I.

This application is filed as a division of an application for Letters Patent filed by me in the Patent Office on the 3d day of December, 1895, numbered serially 570,948, in which a brake embodying my present invention is shown and described but not claimed.

I claim 1. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of brush-teeth, said brush being maintained in contact with a suitable support, which is movable toward and from the road-bed or pavement, cam-surfaces formed on said brush-back and on said block or support, respectively, such, that movement of said brush, longitudinally of said support, will operate to advance or retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops to maintain said support in permanent longitudinal adjustment, relatively to the car, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush relatively to said support, means to maintain said brush, normally, at the limit of its retraction, relatively to said support, and means to lower and raise said support, to depress the free end of the brush-teeth into and to raise them out of contact with the road-bed or pavement, substantially as described.

2. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of resilient brush-teeth, said brush being maintained in contact with a suitable support, which is movable toward and from the road-bed or pavement, cam-surfaces formed on said brushback and on said block or support, respectively, such, that movement of said brush, longitudinally of said support, will operate to advance or retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops to maintain said support in permanent longitudinal adjustment, relatively to the car, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said support, means to maintain said brush, normally, at the limit of its retraction, relatively to said support, and means to lower and raise said support, to depress the free ends of the brush-teeth into and to raise them out of contact with the road-bed or pavement, substantially as described.

3. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of brush-teeth,

said brush being maintained in contact with a suitable support, which is movable toward and from the road-bed or pavement, duplicate cam-surfaces formed on said brush-back and on said block or support,'respectively, one set at each end thereof, said cam-surfaces being such that movement of said brush, longitudin ally of said support, will operate to advance or retract said brush, relatively to said sup port, stops to maintain said support in permanent longitudinal adjustment upon the car, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said support, means to maintain said brush, normally, at the limit of its retraction, relatively to said block or support, and means to lower and raise said block or support to depress the free ends of the brush-teeth into and to raise them out of contact with the road-bed or pavement, substantially as described.

4. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of brush-teeth, a channel formed longitudinally in the back of said brake-brush, a block or support, movable, bodily, toward and from the road-bed or pavement in suitable rigid guides, which operate to maintain said block in permanent longitudinal adjustment upon the car, said block or support being fitted to the channel in the brush-back, duplicate cam-surfaces formed on the contacting sides of said brakebrush and block or support, one at each end thereof, said cam-surfaces being such that movement of said brush, longitudinally of said block or support, will operate to advance or retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops ,to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said block or support, tension-springs connecting said block or support and brush, whereby said brush will be maintained, normally, retracted, relatively to said block or support, a nut rig= idly supported above the middle of said block or support, a screw threaded through said nut and adapted to impinge on said block or support, a lifting-bar attached to said block or support, which embraces said screw above a collar securedto said screw and means to rotate said screw, substantially as described.

5. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of brush-teeth, a channel formed longitudinally in the back of said brake-brush, a block or support movable, bodily, toward and from the road-bed or pavement in suitable rigid guides, which operate to maintain said block in permanent longitudinal adjustment upon the car, said block or support being fitted to the channel in the brush-back, duplicate cam-surfaces formed on the contacting sides of said brakebrush and block or support, one at each end thereof, said cam-surfaces being such that movement of said brush, longitudinally of said block or support, will operate to advance or retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said block or support, tension-springs connecting said block or support and brush, whereby said brush will be maintained, normally, retracted, relatively to said block or support, a nut rigidly supported above the middle of said block or support, elastic cushions or washers inserted under the ends of said nut, a screw threaded through said nut and adapted to impinge on said block or support, a lifting-bar attached to said block or support, which embraces said screw above a collar secured to said screw and means to rotate said screw, substantially as described.

6. In a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of brush-teeth, a channel formed longitudinally in the back of said brake-brush, a block or support, movable, bodily, toward and from the road-bed or pavement in suitable rigid guides, which operate to maintain said block in permanent longitudinal adjustment upon the car, said block or support being fitted to the channel in the brush-back, duplicate cam-surfaces formed on the contacting sides of said brakebrush and block or support, one at each end thereof, said cam-surfaces being such that movement of said brush longitudinally of said block or support, will operate to advance and retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said block or support, tension-springs connecting said block or support and brush, whereby said brush will be maintained, normally, retracted, relatively to said block or support, a nut rigidly supported above the middle of said block or support, elastic cushions or washers inserted under the ends of said nut, a screw threaded through said nut and adapted to impinge on said block or support, a 1ifting-bar attached to said block or support, which embraces said screw above a collar secured to said screw, the upper end of said screw being tubular and a shaft being fitted thereto and splined therein, a bevel-gear thereon, which meshes with abevel-gear secured to a horizontal shaft, a hand-wl1eel pivoted on the car, sprocketwheels on said hand-wheel and said horizontal shaft, and a chain belt adjusted to said sprocket-wheels, substantially as described.

7. I11 a vehicle-brake, the combination of a brake-brush, consisting of a rigid back in which are secured a plurality of resilient brush-teeth, a channel formed longitudinally in the back of said brake-brush, a block or support, movable, bodily, toward and from the road-bed or pavement in suitable rigid guides, which operate to maintain said block in permanent longitudinal adjustment upon the car, said block or support being fitted to the channel in the brush-back, duplicate camsurfaces formed on the contacting sides of said brake-brush and block or support, one at each end thereof, said cam-surfaces being such that movement of said brush longitudinally of said block or support, will operate to advance and retract said brush, relatively to said support, stops to limit the longitudinal movement of said brush, relatively to said block or support, tension-springs connecting said block or support and brush, whereby said brush will be maintained, normally, retracted, relatively to said block or support, a nut rigidly supported above the middle of said block or support, elastic cushions or washers inserted under the ends of said nut; a screw threaded through said nut and adapted to impinge on said block or support, a lifting-bar pivoted to said block or support, which embraces said screw above a collar rigidly secured to said screw and means to rotate said screw, substantially as described.

I11 testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of February, 1896.

CHARLES E. FAIRCIIILD.

Witnesses: I

F. O. CRITTENDEN, GRACE FERN. 

